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May 30, 2013, 2:21pm PDT Updated: May 30, 2013, 3:08pm PDT

10 Silicon Valley tech luminaries share the odd ways they made their first buck

My father was director of a jewelry manufacturing company with a couple of on-the-road salesmen. The senior salesman had a heart attack. He was cleared to come back to work but he was afraid to drive, so for the whole summer I was his driver, driving all around Ireland.

Jonathan Reichental
Chief Information Officer
City of Palo Alto

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Linda Taaffe: Special Section/Focus Editor- Silicon Valley Business Journal; Email

Facebook’s current director of information technology Tim Campos may have earned the title of youngest CIO of a Fortune 500 Company when he joined KLA-Tencor at age 32, but ever wonder what he did before that? What about the tech minds behind bringing Wi-Fi to NHL Shark’s fans and to the Warrior’s basketball stadium.
As part of the 2013 Best Bay Area CIO Awards, we’re taking a look at how some of the biggest tech minds in the Valley got their start before becoming key players for the technology strategies at some of the world’s most recognized companies.
Their answers might surprise you.
This year’s standout c-suite techies come from industries as varied as social media, sports and healthcare to real estate. We asked all 17 finalists about their wildest jobs, biggest mistakes, and the best advice they ever received. We’ll be teasing out some of their responses over the coming week as we build to our special publication on June 14.
Click through the slideshow for a look some of their first jobs.